Justin Timberlake Releases First Solo Song In 6 Years
Originally appeared on E! online
Justin Timberlake makes a sexy comeback with his new music.
However, the Grammy winner returned to her solo roots with "Selfish", her first song in six years. Along with his new song, Timberlake released a music video featuring himself in a large warehouse before performing the song in a sharp suit with some slick dance moves.
According to longtime friend and collaborator Timbaland, who worked with Timberlake on his upcoming album Everything I Thought It Was, fans are excited about the new music.
"It's fun Justin, like 'FutureSex/LoveSounds,' but not as heavy," the music producer told Variety in an April interview, "I'm just giving you what you want from us. It's not very thought out no, the lyrics no.' t too deep. , it's music that makes your head dance and dance."
And while the March 15 album arrives six years after Timberlake's last album, Man of the Woods, Timbaland promises it's worth it. "We took our time," he added. “We said, “We want it to be like FutureSex Part Two.
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And it's no lie that Timberlake is returning to his early influences with his new music. In fact, he recently took it a step further and reunited with fellow *NSYNC boybands including JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick to release their first song in over 20 years.
In addition to releasing "Better Place" for the movie Trolls Band Together, the group appeared together for the first time in nearly a decade to perform at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards in September.
But after reuniting in the recording studio, can fans expect them to get back together soon?
"Listen, the door is always open," Bass told E! News for November. “And I think, especially now. I'm ready and you know we'll talk about it sooner or later. So let's hope something works."
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel still can't control this feeling.
But while we wait for Timberlake's new album, let's check back with some fun facts about *NSYNC.
1. After Chris Kirkpatrick, then 23, was ignored by the Backstreet Boys, the prime example of sleazy impresario Lou Perlman shooting a boy band with lightning in a bottle, she dusted herself off and told Perlman that she had always been in the son interested. . bands. tape
Perlman agreed to raise the money if Kirkpatrick would take care of finding other talent to join him, and so the shows and hours of recording began. They eventually met 14-year-old Justin Timberlake, a graduate of the All New-Mickey Mouse Club and aspiring singer, who recommended the former mouse to 19-year-old JC Chasez. ("JC was an older guy and Justin wanted to be like him," his co-star Christina Aguilera recalled to Rolling Stone.
They continued the search in Orlando, and Kirkpatrick thought of 18-year-old Joey Fatton, whom he knew from his days at Universal Studios and who Chase had known since he lived in Florida while working at Disney. But they still need a deeper voice.
Timberlake's vocal coach recommended listening to this boy from Mississippi, Lance Bass, who flew to Florida on October 1, 1995. Pearlman and Timberlake chose the perfect name for the 16-year-old to play first-person black at the airport. Rolls Royce. .
Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough, who knew Kirkpatrick at the time, later congratulated himself on the whole coincidence, telling Pop Crush in 2015 that BSB asked Pearlman to "help [Chris] in any way he can and he's still a reality ." REAL. I got back with Chris and formed the band that gradually evolved into 'NSYNC.
2. But wait, Bass wasn't the original fifth member of 'N Sync.
The role was originally played by Jason Galasso, who had known Fatone in choir since high school and was in group singing when he was given a page (90s, FTW) by an old acquaintance. Coincidentally, he also knew Chasez because, as Galasso explained on The Digital Get Down podcast in 2019, he "hung out with Mickey Mouse Club stars" like Chase Hampton and Keri Russell.
When they "perfectly covered" Boyz II Men's "End of the Road", that was it, he was still in an unknown group. "I remember saying, 'Damn, Justin is still young,'" she recalled. "But then I heard him sing, I thought, 'Oh, whatever he is, he can sing amazingly.
But at the same time, the bass player is also in a three-piece band called Unreal, “so I'm still trying to decide, you know, what I want to do, what direction I want to go in, what band. I want to join,” recalls Galasso, who currently works in the mortgage industry. “Because I remember when Lou Perlman first brought music, he was wondering what kind of music we were going to make, and I came from R&B. and a hip-hop background. This is my love, my heart, my soul."
So when Pearlman came up with "this European-style techno, I was like, 'Hmm, that's good.'" So he went ahead and went to Atlanta with the rest of the Unreal guys to record a demo, which according to him was a great success.
At the same time, NSYNC was starting to form and they were talking about creating work for Disney's Pleasure Island. They also toured Shaquille O'Neal's house to check out his home studio in Orlando, but they haven't recorded any music yet. And it is more important that they have not yet signed the contract for Galasso.
Very quickly both groups tried to get him to sign. Galasso said he gave the fight contracts to the lawyers, and while the agreements with the three were pretty standard, Pearlman himself entered into the 'N Sync contract as the sixth member, and the contract was "the size of a phone book. " He believed that the other members of 'N Sync were more interested in the agreement than he was, and rightfully so, as they all signed it regardless of whether they actually knew what it meant or not. : .
So Galasso ended up choosing a band that wasn't 'N Sync.
3. In addition to Timberlake's mother praising the fact that they sound so "in sync," the group's name is sometimes NSYNC, sometimes *NSYNC, but for our purposes, "N Sync" includes the last letter of their name, Justin. Chris, Joey, Jason and J.
Oh wait... The guys asked Lance if he wouldn't mind changing the name a bit to go N Sync. And so Lanceton was born. "They called me Lanceton for Good Year, just as a joke," Bass told EW.com in 2015. "I think Justin was the first one to say, 'Okay, Lanceton.' Then he faded a little when we We made the deal and then we left It didn't last long It was either Lanceton or Landon.
4. A few years later, when their biggest audience was in Germany, fans of "I Want You Back" and "Tearing Up My Heart", written by Max Martin ("We were on the cover of every magazine in Europe" , Bass recalls. ), 'N Sync finally got their big break in the United States when the Backstreet Boys turned down a concert show on the Disney Channel.
Instead, NSYNC in Concert came out in 1998 and thanks to cable television, the Disney Channel aired it over and over again. "The Disney Channel show really changed our careers," Bass told 20/20. "It was incredible and for me that concert is what brought us to America."
5. While they were all in Miami for the Challenge for the Children charity basketball game, they ordered room service to their hotel rooms just before arriving at the press. Fathon arrived at least 15 minutes late because he apparently expected a fresh burger because his plate was already full of snacks. But it didn't happen that way, Bass recalled on the Inside of You With Michael Rosenbaum podcast. Timberlake really goes out of his way to criticize his friend.
"It's so funny. I've never seen Joey so angry about something like that," Bass said. He was "probably tired or something," but "he always joked about his tantrums. Constantly."
6. Fatone can explode over a partially eaten burger, but Bass admits he's not always patient. He told Rosenbaum that he sometimes loses his mind when Kirkpatrick pushes his comedic persona too far in interviews. “Chris, you know, is very passionate,” Bass said, “and he's funny and always cracking jokes. But when someone always makes a joke in every interview, and you do it 20 times a day, and there are five people there, you have to do it; long day Long and long.
"That's what I often tell myself. "Shut up: Just answer the questions so we can move on because we're really tired right now. So he always makes sure that all our interviews last at least twice as long."
7. At one point, they were so busy they didn't even stop at the barber shop for a haircut (or bleach), so, says Bass, "that's when I started taking this bleach, putting it on my hair sat and put on. my hair. the tip of a finger." in, and thus the very interesting borders were born.
Now you know.
8. In 2000, to celebrate the diamond status of N Sync's 1997 debut album, which sold 10 million copies, their manager Johnny Wright (who was previously the road manager of New Kids on the Block with his wife Donna) given to him. pendant with five diamonds and platinum. "We're diamonds," Timberlake announced, mostly in jest, according to Rolling Stone. "Everyone wait!" I finished Forget about this group of guys.
9. The members of 'N Sync got rich, but not right away, and not until they took matters into their own hands. It turns out that Pearlman, who died in prison in 2016 while serving a 25-year sentence for money laundering and other crimes committed as part of a Ponzi scheme, they and the Backstreet Boys (and O-Town required for that matter) apparently screwed up. . important) lack of money.
Speaking on ABC News' 20/20 in 2019, Bass recalled Perlman bringing 'N Sync members and their families to Los Angeles in 1998 for a promised check presentation party. Amount: $10,000 each.
“I'm in the biggest band in the world and I'm selling millions of records, but I can't even afford my own apartment in Orlando. I can't even afford a car," said Bass, trying to be polite. but when he tore up the receipt as he returned to his hotel room. Kirkpatrick added, "With all this success, you'd think we'd makes money that travels and prints money and things like that, but it wasn't like that."
After honoring their contract, like the members of BSB, and treating Pearlman as a sixth member, meaning he received one-sixth of the group's profits and management fees, 'N Sync switched to Jive Records and TransContinental Records quickly sued. and RCA's parent company, BMG Entertainment, which distributed his first album. It was a $150 million lawsuit, but Pearlman's main goal was to stop them from continuing to use the 'N Sync name. They sued for $25 million and paid an undisclosed amount in 1999 and, perhaps more importantly, retained the right to carry on their name intact.
10. No Strings Attached, their successful second album released in March 2000, is figurative AF.
"'No Strings added' became the theme," Kirkpatrick, who got the idea after seeing "I've Got No Strings" from Disney's Pinocchio, told 20/20. "It became our rallying cry. 'We don't owe anybody anything anymore...we have no other relationship except to each other...and to our fans.'
Chasez, who won a seventh-grade talent contest with Richard Marx's "Right Here Waiting" only to have Marx write and produce "I Promise You" for No Strings, told Rolling Stone: They sing passively, they're all cut and clapped. You can definitely hear Michael Jackson's influence in the way the lyrics are abbreviated; that's how Michael delivers the line."
Timberlake added: “We're crazy now, it is what it is. Us white kids are mad because we didn't get our props. No, I'm kidding, I'm kidding."
Furthermore, they were often musically homeless, unhappy with Transcontinental, and not yet established in Jive, whose artists included Timberlake's secret (if not well-groomed) girlfriend, Britney Spears, and the Backstreet Boys.
"No Strings Attached" sold 2.4 million copies in its first week of release, including 1.1 million on the first day.
11. A year later, Jackson took the stage with them for the first time at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, appearing just as 'N Sync finished their performance of 'Pop' and sending the audience into a frenzy while he speaks. You, I didn't sing, then a few days later we met at the Dance Machine for Michael Jackson's thirtieth birthday party. The two-day concert at Madison Square Garden in November was broadcast on CBS.
In 2016, Bass revealed on The Meredith Vieira Show that Jackson did not speak to him for a year after the MSG event because Jackson insisted that Bass and Fatone (who were scheduled to attend the film's premiere) stay until "the event is complete". " group During a performance of "Heal the World", which he said was "for kids", Bass laughed, not realizing that the King of Pop was actually serious.
12. When they have more money in the bank, they naturally start spending it. In March 2000, Timberlake bought a Mercedes Jeep (his first major purchase) and a BMW M Roadster, and the following year he added a Dodge Viper, an Audi TT, a Porsche 911 and a Cadillac Escalade to his collection added. Faton bought a black Cadillac truck, a house and a car for his parents and siblings. Some of them bought houses in Orlando, and Kirkpatrick even bought a house for his mother. Bass found homes in Orlando, one in his home state of Mississippi, and another in the border region known as Floribama.
"There was a white grand piano and a white couch and a tapestry of knights on horseback, and I had a beautiful acrylic painting of a naked man and woman that my friend had given me," Timberlake told Rolling Stone. explain. . "It's a beautiful room. You turn it on and it lights up. I have a game room that we call the Jimmy Buffett room because it's tropical Orlando, and I have a rustic kitchen to remember where I've been. "
The following year, Chasez revealed that he had become a lover of red wine and fell in love with a $2,500 Helmut Newton photography book.
13. In 2000, shortly before the release of No Strings Attached, Kirkpatrick dated his girlfriend for about a year before 'N Sync became a global phenomenon. It didn't have to be, as he married Carly Skladani in 2013 after three years together in front of all his former bandmates.
Timberlake continues to question whether he and Spears are actually dating ("Britney's a good friend of mine"), telling Rolling Stone: "...personally."
Bass previously dated "Boy Meets World" star Daniel Fishel and even accompanied her to her high school prom. She reportedly decided to wait until 2006 to come out as gay and has been married to Michael Turchin since 2014.
Faton had been dating Kelly Baldwin, his high school sweetheart, since 1993, but they got back together when they welcomed daughter Briahna in March 2001. They married in 2004 and had a second daughter, Chloe Alexandra, in 2010, but divorced in 2019, with Faton dating Isabel Araujo.
Although Chasez usually has girlfriends (in 2001 he met Bobbi Thomas, who was inspired to start her own blog after seeing the media's treatment of Spears), he keeps impressive secrets about his personal life.
14. In 2000, Bass launched Freelance Management in hopes of developing local artists. Timberlake established his eponymous foundation to support music and arts education in public schools. Chasez produces music for the girl group Wild Orchid and Kirkpatrick founded his own fashion and music production company called Fuman Skeeto.
15. Aside from tons of screaming fans, they don't try to be super cute to get as many kids' (and their moms') attention as possible.
"We're not trying to make ourselves funny, we're just being ourselves," Timberlake told Rolling Stone in 2000. "We are men. We make up and chew like men."
16. Considering himself a stereotypical guy, Kirkpatrick told Rolling Stone in 2001: "Do."
The writer described Bass as "a very kind, modest and patient man, so handsome that he looked almost like a girl and never stopped smiling." Chases was considered the man whose offstage persona was the furthest thing from his onstage persona, "the man who would most likely walk past you so quietly you wouldn't even notice."
Faton is "a giant, wild boy with electricity constantly vibrating under his skin, like he's going to throw a party anytime, anywhere."
17. During the 2001 experiments, the platform rose very quickly and Faton's leg was felt between the platform and the stage, but without exposing the inside of the foot.
“There was a hole,” Bass told Rolling Stone. "You can see the bones, you can see everything. So we press on him and the fat comes out and it's not good. He took the pain well, but he was sorry. Oh, he screamed. It felt as if the bullet had penetrated his leg.
Added chassis. "He ended up going to the hospital, they cut off part of his leg and they had to remove the metal because his foot appeared between two pieces of metal. I don't know how he didn't hit it." Not broken. He's a tough kid."
A few weeks later, Faton, who moves with a cane, returned to the dance stage. “He was in pain,” Chases said. "But Joie has great demonstrative ability. She knows how to hide her steps because she stays on stage longer than we do."
18. Let's think about it: "N Sync has been relatively quiet. They're the first to admit they enjoy it, but they're not worried and the problems don't tend to "find" them. Bass loves Jack and Coke, but probably volunteers to be the driver's designated driver. "If the 12-year-old hears the news that I've been arrested for cocaine, a lot will be affected," he told Rolling Stone. "I remember when I ten was and I caught my sister drinking, it was very sad for me." He added. "I can drink water and feel drunk."
19. Glory doesn't happen overnight, but when it manifests, it's a whole new world.
"Do you understand how hard it is to work and isn't it glamorous?" Bass told Rolling Stone. "It's like going to Disney World, walking into the tunnel and seeing Cinderella. All the magic is gone."
Timberlake admits. "It's a bit difficult. No doubt there are times when I'm really sad. But you know, my spiritualism helps me get through it. I feel like we're two people. the audience watching me and the people present. The guy that is - Brush your teeth twice a day Now everything is fine Sometimes the brush doesn't pay enough attention, but it's worth it.
"You don't want to say a lot or do a lot," admits Fatoni. "You know, it kind of breaks fans' hearts when there's something they don't know that might bother them."
20. If anyone thought that "N Sync" consisted of five different parts and only brought happiness, they were wrong.
"We started out as best friends and, you know, I think it shows in everything we do," Kirkpatrick said when he sat down with the rest of the gang in January 2001 on CNN's Larry King Live With. "Then it just came to us. Were we together? On stage, when we do jokes, we do so many shows that every show is so different because of our interactions. And we'll be able to do that with each other."
In response to King's observation that many members of the group were unable to be behind the scenes, Timberlake added, "Well, our chemistry is unreal. I can just look at Chris, and he can do 10 things at once slag says, and he will clearly understand what I meant by looking at it, because we were together first of all, we were together. , Some of us work from 9 to 5, but we sing every day, you know, we try to rest. "
21. They got over their fears of living in the fishbowl of different influences with their third, 2001's "Celebrity."
At the time, Timberlake was openly dating Spears ("When we get together, she's just my daughter and I love her. I don't care what anybody else thinks. She makes me happy. It's like salvation," he continued Rolling Stone said;
22. In 2000, Timberlake told Rolling Stone about Boy Bender's entry.
Well, the other Boy-Bender didn't have to worry that long.
23. "N Sync" performed "Temporary Break" in 2002 and ended the tour with his remarks, first, so Timberlake could focus on his solo career, and it paid off. Although no one said it directly, the group never officially announced its liquidation. One Direction fans are already familiar with the concept.
"After you've done something, every now and then you get into a rhythm, and new things pique your curiosity, you need new food for the brain," says "Blowin' Me Up Love") with a song. In 2019, he told the Huffington Post. "At that moment we felt like we were running out of ideas about what to do. 'Well, let's do something else.' So we made it?"
He said about the bass. "The boys and I never had a bad relationship... I was disappointed that it wasn't just Justin who left the group. It was our whole team, our labor party, our leadership, everyone was like that. Everyone has knew it, everyone knew it three years ago before you told me.
"So I stayed there for three years and put together a new album, while everyone knew we were leaving."
24. The guys from "N Sync" split up when they started their solo careers, and Timberlake became a superstar himself (despite one of them going to Jessica's wedding in Italy when he married Jessica in 2007 Biel married). 2012), after releasing JUSTIFIED in November 2002 and never looking back.
That's why their reunion performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards is more emotional.
It's short but sweet and their movements are unchanged.
25. Think about why he didn't hang out with "N Sync," Bazed said during the group's rise to Hollywood glory. "At the time I thought I could never tell anyone because it's not like that. It's not the case. "I'm just afraid of long-term rejection, I'm sure it will happen, but most of all I don't want this putting people here at risk, not to mention the hundreds of amazing people who worked tirelessly to implement "N Sync". With the world.
The bass continued. "I thought if I left, 'N Sync would be over. So I kept my secret. And our wildest dreams came true, and we were so grateful for that, and still are. But so many nights on stage, I saw it. Many young gay fans sang their hearts out and I really wanted to tell you that I am you. I just didn't have the strength at that time. But today I have and I show you all my LGBT brothers and sisters tell . The one who hugged me and showed me how to be the real me, thank you very much."
We can only imagine that it gained a lot of new fans after it was released to the public. And if he loses something, those people don't deserve it.
